Although the bureau had officially approved Torry's application to be specially hired as a calligraphy and painting expert, Torry did not want to make it public. With the cooperation of Captain Lu, Torry's identity as a criminal suspect was "confirmed" in the internal gossip of Zhongyi Company, so he simply did not go to work for many days. This had many advantages, such as not having to see Liu Qingde's ugly face, and making Director Liu feel in awe of him. More importantly, he could use the daytime to openly study calligraphy and painting materials, and call it "serving the people."
After reading for a while, Torry felt the need to communicate with others, so he called Leo. Leo had fewer classes this semester, and he didn't have a girlfriend to supervise him, so he lived a happier life than elementary school children. After all, now even kindergarten students are forced to get up early to learn skills, seek good prices, and wait for the right time to fly.
The two met at an Italian restaurant opposite the Municipal Bureau, found an outdoor chair to sit down, and crossed their legs under the parasol. Leo ordered a cappuccino, and Torry ordered a latte. The two unemployed young men enjoyed the freedom of being free from oppression and being the master of their own house.
In this Italian restaurant opened by a Chinese, in addition to pasta and pizza, there are also Italian dough sticks and Italian dumplings, and French songs were played all afternoon, which echoed with "Spring Story" and "Our Team Towards the Sun" played on loop in the hardware store next door. It is simply the United Nations of the catering industry.
"I recently reviewed the historical quotations and theories on painting, and I felt that I had to take a break."
"Just because of that case?" Leo knew that the only thing that could make Torry so hardworking was the debt and the case. But he also knew that there were some things he shouldn't know, so he didn't take the initiative to ask for details.
Torry nodded: "I read from Xie He's "Ancient Painting Catalogue" of the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the scattered discussions of painters in the Republic of China. I felt that it was not thorough enough, and even traced back to the relevant chapters of the "Book of Changes", "Tao Te Ching" and "Zhuangzi". I swallowed some parts without thinking about them, and I thought about some of them repeatedly. After a few days, I went through them all."
"So which people did you focus on?"
"Wang Wei, Jing Hao, Guo Ruoxu, Guo Xi, Huang Gongwang, Dong Qichang, Wang Yuanqi, Huang Binhong."
"Any interesting discoveries?"
Torry pulled out a wrinkled copy of Zhuangzi from his bag, opened a folded page, and pointed to a passage for Leo to read: "This should be one of the earliest theories of painting."
Leo took the book and saw the following words written on it:
When the Duke Yuan of Song was about to paint a picture, all the historians came and stood up after receiving the salute. Half of them stood outside while licking their brushes and mixing ink. One historian came later and did not move forward. He did not stand up after receiving the salute, so he was left. The Duke sent someone to see him. He was naked and humiliated. The Duke said, "It's good. He is a true painter!"
Leo read the original text while Torry translated it verbally: "Duke Yuan of Song planned to paint a few pictures, and a group of painters came. After receiving the order, they stood by respectfully, licked their brushes, and mixed ink. At this time, half of them were still standing outside the door. A painter arrived last, but this guy was not at all flustered, nor did he wait outside in a pretentious and respectful manner, but immediately returned to the pavilion. Duke Yuan of Song sent someone to see, only to see that this guy had already unbut.toned his clothes, exposed his body, and stretched his legs forward carelessly, sitting like a winnowing basket. Duke Yuan of Song said: 'Well, this is a real painter!'"
"So what did you come up with?"
"I'm thinking about what the murderer looks like." Indeed, Torry couldn't help but imagine what the "great painter" looked like. Could it be a "middle-aged man" under 30 who didn't care about his appearance and liked to wear loose clothes?
Let's not talk about appearance for now. After all, Matisse doesn't look like a Fauvist, and Leonardo da Vinci's old face with a beard is far less delicate than Mona Lisa's. But in terms of personality, the "great painter" should be a free and easy-going person who doesn't care about details, otherwise his brushwork is unlikely to be so concise and vivid, with a thousand meanings in one stroke. Torry couldn't imagine that a submissive and conservative person could paint such a loose work.
When Torry mentioned the "murderer", Leo wisely did not ask any further questions, but he began to ridicule the old drama queens in the current painting world: "I don't think painters have to dress loosely, just like getting a rooster haircut and tattoos doesn't make you rock and roll. Look at the so-called painters nowadays, most of them are experts in networking first, and then they paint. Even if they are dressed like immortals, their clothes are just props for catwalks. Their paintings are not so much artistic creations as they are stepping stones to help them enter the upper class."
"But a true painter has a free spirit."
"I agree with this. Mr. Liu Haisu said that a true painter should not be bound by etiquette. He should let his natural feelings run wild and transcend social conventions to complete his work."
Torry got excited: "The words of the Japanese Kanehara Shogo are more profound. He said that the morality of the painting world is beyond the morality of the ordinary world, that is, the increase in the value of the work determines the morality of the painter."
"But we Chinese certainly don't think so. Otherwise, the treacherous minister Qin Hui would have left a mark in the history of calligraphy, and another treacherous minister Cai Jing would not have been kicked out of the four great masters of the Song Dynasty, Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai. For Chinese society, the moral standards of the real world have a veto over art criticism."
"Yes...I agree." Torry said and began to daydream.
There is no doubt that, according to Kanehara Shogo, a person who truly understands art, such as the "great painter", may not follow various etiquette in front of others, but he must have his own set of moral standards that transcend the mundane world. This set of standards is deeply rooted in his genes and reflected in his creations, but it is not necessarily revealed in his daily behavior. It is this set of standards that allows him to paint the purest works of art while believing that killing is justified.
Moreover, this made Torry think about a more relevant question: What kind of growing environment fostered the spirit of the "Great Painter"? And what kind of work does the "Great Painter" do in real life, and what kind of appearance does he show to others? He tried to further describe the "Great Painter" based on the previous analysis, but it seemed difficult.
The two chatted briefly, and Torry lost interest, so he sent Leo back. He crossed the street and returned to the Municipal Bureau, where he sat in his office again, staring blankly at the piles of old books on his desk.
The blood painting of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains is only a small work of the "great painter". His real "masterpiece" is a serial murder case woven with five blood paintings. Judging from Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, the specifications of the scroll prepared by the "great painter" are exactly the same as the original, which is very faithful. But his brushwork is concise and unrestrained, with a wide range of openings and closings, and he is not bound by the detailed descriptions of the ancients. From the perspective of the whole case, he killed Grace on the grounds of lying, and all the details are full of symbolism, ritual and design. Torry can be sure that if the "great painter" continues to commit crimes, he will still complete his crazy ideas so meticulously. The unity of opposites between carefulness and madness is as powerful as any masterpiece.
Torry just sat there from afternoon to evening. He was deeply immersed in the enchantment of the "Great Painter" when suddenly someone tapped his shoulder. He was so frightened that he almost fell off the swivel chair.
He turned his head cautiously. It was Li Yufei. Li Yufei obviously did not expect Torry's reaction to be so intense. She was shocked for a moment, but soon she smiled again. Before Torry could speak, Li Yufei pointed to the desk and said, "You haven't had any water for about three hours."
Torry didn't know how three hours had passed. He looked back at his desk and found a small teapot. He scratched his hair at the back of his head, turned to Li Yufei, and smiled awkwardly: "Thanks. Sorry, I made a fool of myself."
Li Yufei thought it was cute, and her surprise was wiped out. "What are you reading?" As she said this, she walked forward to flip through Torry's books. She saw that there were few new books in the three thick piles. Most of the pages were vertically arranged, printed in traditional Chinese, and the content was half classical and half vernacular, or all classical Chinese. Uncommon characters appeared one after another, making her wonder if she had never learned Chinese.
Torry was about to tell her everything, but he saw Li Yufei was avoiding the plague, so he just smiled. He had a similar reaction when he saw the high school physics questions, and he could empathize with her.
Seeing that Torry's smile was only forced except for the wrinkles, Li Yufei guessed that he must be looking down on her in his heart. The smile she gave him back was uglier than crying: "People with intellectual talents are different. Well... I'm going to work first, I'll talk to you later. Oh, by the way, remember to drink your tea, don't let it get cold." After saying that, she slipped away in despair.
Torry was puzzled. He almost fell on his back, but why did he feel that Li Yufei, who was watching the joke, was more embarrassed than him? He shook his head helplessly, turned around, and happened to see the teapot.
A few days ago, he complained to Liam that the cups in the city bureau's office looked like street vendors from the 1970s and 1980s, without any taste. He would rather his teeth rot if he was given a tooth cup. However, the purple clay teapot in front of him looked decent. It was hexagonal, not exquisitely made, but well-balanced, simple and generous. He picked it up and poured it into the cup, and the deep red tea poured out. He opened the lid of the pot and found that it was filled with small green tangerines. The black tea leaves were wrapped in small kumquats, and the brewed black tea had the fragrance of kumquats.
Torry's throat had been a little inflamed since yesterday morning, so drinking a small green citrus fruit was just right for him. He suddenly felt very grateful to Li Yufei. Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at Li Yufei's workstation, but found that Li Yufei was also looking at him. When their eyes met, it seemed that the impact was too great, and the next second they turned their heads back to their desks as if they were competing to save the earth, as if they had to do something on their desks to finish it immediately.
Torry calmed himself down and narrowed his eyes. He could sense that the girl behind him was in the same embarrassment, feeling like a thorn in her back.
It happened that at this time Liam came to the rescue and shouted from afar to call a meeting, saying that there was an important matter to discuss.
During this period, some of Liam's men were looking for Max's whereabouts, while others were investigating Zhao Chang's social relationships, hoping to find clues about the "great painter" from the relationship network of Zhao Chang's younger brother.
A few days later, the second wave of people returned empty-handed. They even wanted to detain and interrogate Zhao Chang on the grounds of Grace's video revelation, but this case involved a public figure, and if the content of the video was known to more people, the social impact would be extremely bad. They searched for a few days, but there was no hard evidence to prove that Zhao Chang was related to those intentional homicide car accidents, and the scapegoat who was serving a sentence was even more tight-lipped, leaving them helpless.
But the people who found Max made a major breakthrough.
"Didn't Max enter a residential area without surveillance after stealing the painting that day? We investigated and found that he should have left the residential area at 7 o'clock in the morning, disguised, but without the painting on him. It was obvious that he had sold the painting in the residential area. Finally, he entered Xiaolinzhuang in the south of the city, which is the junction of urban and rural areas. Although there is no surveillance in Xiaolinzhuang, the search range has been greatly narrowed." Zhang Lei said.
"Yes, we have been keeping an eye on the entrances and exits of Xiaolinzhuang. We are basically certain that Max never came out after he went in." One of Zhang Lei's men added.
Liam had been leading the Zhao Chang line for the past few days, and only listened to the progress of Max. He listened and heard that there had been no progress for several days, so he shouted impatiently: "The exhibition was on the 15th, and the location of Xiaolinzhuang was on the 17th. Today is the 23rd, and there is no trace of Max. What's going on?"
Everyone was shocked by Captain Lu, and no one spoke for a while. Before Liam finished speaking, he continued angrily: "What about the painting? It was confirmed that it was sold in that community, and there is no more?"
The people in charge of the painting did not find any suspicious persons, and privately suspected that the painting had been passed on to a resident in the community, and that the resident had not left the community yet. They studied those who left the community, and also tracked down a dozen key suspects in a limited time, but did not gain much. They even focused on tracking five residents of the community who were dragging large suitcases to the airport, but with the cooperation of the police at the destination, they found that they had nothing to do with the case.
Moreover, compared to moving the painting away soon after the crime, it seems safer to hide it in a complicated old neighborhood. But this is difficult to do, it is impossible to dig up every house and search three feet deep.
"The painting has not been found. We suspect it is still in the community." After a moment of silence, Zhang Lei spoke up. "As for Max, we asked around with his photo, and only the proprietress of a mutton spine hotpot restaurant at the north entrance of Xiaolin Village had seen him. The proprietress said she had only seen him once, and she couldn't remember when, but it must have been several days ago. We speculate that it may have been a few days earlier than when he stole the painting."
"Has he been hiding in his den and fasting for so many days?"
"Maybe he ordered takeout?" Li Yufei said.
Torry almost cried because of her stupidity: "A prison escaped murderer left information on the Internet just to stutter. What's the difference between this and a prostitute handing out cards all over the world?"
Li Yufei was immune to Liam's hot temper, but Torry's vulgar analogy still caught her off guard and made her blush. Liam realized that it was inappropriate for Torry to speak to this female trainee police officer who had just started out, but the serious atmosphere he had created with great difficulty should not be broken, so he just glared at Torry fiercely and continued to breathe out through his two nostrils.
"There are two other possibilities." Zhang Lei said, "One is that he bought some food to stock up at the grocery store inside Xiaolin Village, and the other is that someone helped him cook, so he didn't live alone."
"The second possibility is possible." Liam frowned, "But I've already said that no one has seen him there except the owner of the hot pot restaurant. How could he be shopping at the grocery store?"
"It's nothing, just a mask." Torry said.
Captain Lu nodded: "There are two ideas now. First, if someone is hiding Max, we will go door to door to look for him. Second, if Max bought his own rations, we will focus on checking the grocery stores and supermarkets in Xiaolin Village and ask if they have seen any suspicious people wearing masks and buying a lot of food at once. If the store happens to have surveillance cameras installed, copy them all." Liam became more and more anxious as he spoke, "It's just a small place, even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we have to find this guy for me!"
Although Liam felt very happy after saying these harsh words, he still had a big knot in his heart. He knew very well that even if he found Max, it didn't mean he had found the "Great Painter". If he was an accomplice of the "Great Painter", it would be fine, but he was afraid that Torry's words would come true and Max and the "Great Painter" had nothing to do with each other. Then, catching Max would just be a recapture of the loach that had already been caught but slipped away, while the "Great Painter" was still showing off outside.
Seeing everyone standing there in a state of embarrassment, Liam jumped up like a rooster with its but.t on fire and shouted, "What's wrong? Do you have frostbite or hemorrhoids on your feet? Can't you move your legs?"
Noel, who had been silent the whole time, said angrily: "Captain Lu, these days we have been either on patrol or monitoring the surveillance. Many of our brothers have not slept for more than 24 hours. Can you let us take a break? Besides, it's late at night now. Isn't it disturbing the people to check every house?"
Liam then realized the time and looked at his watch. It was 9:30 pm. Although it was common to go out on patrol at this time, it was obviously not the right time to knock on every door in Xiaolin Village. Looking at his comrades in front of him, each of them looked like an eggplant hit by frost or a rotten wood struck by lightning, Liam had no choice but to raise his hands and said, "Go, go, go, you just know how to sleep." Seeing that everyone finally moved happily, he kept muttering, "Sleep, sleep, sleep, Grace has plenty of time to sleep now, those who like her can go with her."
Torry smiled and sent away the happy servants. He turned around and put his arm around the still-grumbling Liam's shoulders and said, "I say, Captain Lu, don't work so hard. It's just that you can't catch the suspect. If you fail to catch the suspect and die in the line of duty, that seems even more shameful."
A straight man like Liam, who has achieved some success, always values his reputation more than his life. When his thoughts were ruthlessly exposed, Liam was even more embarrassed and just rejected Torry's concern like a conditioned reflex.
Even though his arm was pushed away, Torry was not annoyed. He hugged his neck again and said, "I'm treating you today. How many drinks do you want to have?"
Liam refused again, Torry invited again, and Captain Lu gave in.
Torry took Liam by the hand and talked to him with a smile to cheer him up. After walking three blocks, they came to a seafood barbecue restaurant. The restaurant extended from the interior to the roadside, occupying half of the road, and its extension was like but.ter slowly melting on a frying pan.
The folding tables and plastic stools outside were of extremely low quality. If the wind got stronger, they would be overturned. There were many big, strong men sitting here. Some of them had taken off their shirts, revealing large gold chains and tattoos deformed by obesity. It was as if all kinds of demons and ghosts were fighting on them, or like pork belly with a "quarantine qualified" stamp. Among these men who talked about genitals and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, there were inevitably a lot of women sitting. These women were either more manly than the men around them, or as weak as willows and withered flowers. After drinking a few sips, they would pour it on any man closest to them.
Liam worked non-stop and was dragged out by Torry without even taking off his uniform. When the burly men saw the police coming, they were like the residents of Pompeii who were frozen in time, and they stopped moving and remained silent. After more than ten seconds, they occasionally made some noises, praising the country's policies.
Liam thought to himself, "You have some policy knowledge if you can say a few words."
Torry said: "It's a leather tiger on the outside, but it's a paper tiger on the inside."
The lady boss, who was carrying out a plate of grilled oysters from the back room, almost fell to the ground when she saw Liam in police uniform. She hurriedly put the plate down, rushed to clear the empty tables and chairs, and told everyone to go home because it was closing time. I guess she thought the police and the urban management were "birds of a feather", and really lacked the basic qualities of a small vendor.
"What are you collecting? What are you collecting? What are we going to drink if you collect it?" Liam was impatient with everything he saw today and was too lazy to explain that he was a good public servant who loved the people.
The two found an empty table with noisy heads and sat down. They drank draft beer before the food was served. Seeing the young criminal investigation captain being overwhelmed by the work and looking like a drowned husky, Teacher Zuo felt sympathy and could not bear to bring up the case again.
"Drink well tonight, and then go back to sleep." Torry picked up the draft beer cup and clinked it with Liam's cup.
Liam had just finished teaching his subordinates a lesson, but now he was taught a lesson by Torry in the same tone. It was really boring. He didn't say anything, but just drank.
"Oh, you're so arrogant. You're different now that you're a leader." Seeing that he didn't reply, Torry made small talk.
"Can you be quiet? It's so noisy." Liam said impatiently again.
Torry burst out laughing. "Grace is the quietest right now, so why don't you go drink with her?" He gave up the idea of not proposing the case and used Liam's original words to stimulate him.
"I say you are doing this on purpose, right? You read those books half eaten by worms every day, but you don't have any profound ideas to help catch the 'great painter', but you just keep making sarcastic remarks."
"I want to talk to you nicely, but you are as stubborn as a log. Do you think I am cheap? Even if I go to Grace's grave, she will still send me some small gifts and promise me something." Torry curled his lips and pretended to be profound, "You young people have encountered too few setbacks. You become impatient when you encounter a difficult person. You don't have the self-control that a public security officer should have."
Liam almost wanted to say "You can do it if you can", but suddenly realized that Torry was right, so he picked up the wine glass to cover up his embarrassment and said unhappily: "You think I haven't been mad enough, so you have to find a chance to mad me again, right?"
"Compared to seeing your angry face, I still prefer to see a smiling lady." Torry felt that the captain in front of him suddenly changed from a big tiger to a pitiful cat, and he felt even more pity for him. "Isn't it just that you met a killer with more sophisticated methods? I felt that when I first met you, you were quite good-tempered. Is it because you solved cases more and more smoothly later that you lost your patience with more troublesome cases?"
"You don't know how much pressure I'm under! The higher-ups are raising the rate of crime clearance every day, and our good record is about to be ruined!"
"I asked you before, and you said that Director Song has not given you an ultimatum. It's true that the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is."
"You don't know how much pressure the chief has put on me! For a vicious case like this, the higher-ups will have to solve it within a time limit sooner or later. The chief just doesn't want to put all the pressure on me." Liam said with a sigh, "And according to your opinion, the 'Great Painter' plans to kill not one person, but five! If he kills them one by one like he's playing a game, we'll all be out of a job!"
"That's great. Find a woman to support you."
Liam didn't know that Torry was trying to change the subject, and was caught off guard. He said unhappily: "Do you think there is any woman in this world who is willing to support you except your mother?"
"As long as I am willing to be a gigolo, there are plenty of them. But for you, it's hard to say."
"I don't want to drink anymore! There's no point in talking to someone who doesn't agree." Liam was about to leave, pointing at Torry's nose and saying, "Don't take advantage of your young age and say whatever you want. Be careful that the police will arrest you and feed you to the hungry wolves in the prison."
"I'm so scared. Luckily I'm not a policeman's girlfriend. It's okay that she doesn't come home every night, but she's so hot-tempered when we meet. She deserves to break up with every date she has." Torry crossed his legs. "Even if Cupid shoots a woman's heart into a hornet's nest, it can't save you."
Liam had already stood up, but upon hearing this, he sat down again and picked up the beer cup to drink it down in one gulp.
"Why, you started to think about life after hearing what's on your mind?"
In fact, Liam could have used the same words to provoke Torry, but he knew that Torry had been emotionally discouraged after Chi Yan's accident. He didn't want to say hurtful words. In his eyes, Torry was just a little brat.
Torry didn't know what Liam was thinking, and wanted to make a joke, but Liam said calmly, "Let's talk about the case."
"Still talking about the case?" Torry was stunned.
"If you want to make me happy, you'd better help me solve the case. Otherwise, even if you move to Deyun Club to perform crosstalk for me, I won't be able to laugh."
Torry smiled bitterly, nodded silently, and drank the wine in his glass.
"You've read so many divine books, what do you think?" Liam said, and pointed at Torry's empty cup to the proprietress not far away.
"I can only increase my understanding of Chinese calligraphy and painting philosophy by reading books, and strive to get closer to the thoughts of the 'great painter'. This will definitely be useful for solving future cases. But without more clues, it's hard for me to give you any direct conclusions." Torry nodded to the proprietress who brought a pitcher of dark beer to express his gratitude, and continued, "This 'great painter' is very good at both painting skills and understanding of painting, and is definitely not comparable to ordinary painters. His understanding of the world is different from ours, and he has his own set of moral standards that he believes to be correct."
"How do you say this?"
"For example, the reason he killed Grace was because she was hypocritical, which can be seen from the poems and videos he left behind. The so-called reason why Zhao Chang hired a killer because of her should not be the main reason. From the information we have, the two had no grudges in the past or the present, and it is very likely that they did not know each other at all. Just because Grace was hypocritical, was it necessary to let her die? No matter from our moral or legal point of view, it is not necessary. But the 'Great Painter' thought it was necessary, and he wanted to execute her for it. I said execution because he did it with a sense of ritual, and he treated it as a very serious matter." Torry took a sip and continued, "And even if Grace or even Zhao Chang were to be unlucky, wouldn't normal people think through the law? But he chose to be an extra-legal law enforcer."
"There are many self-righteous murderers like him, but he is just better at pretending to be mysterious."
"When you don't know him, you think he is playing tricks; once you understand his inner thoughts a little, you will agree that he is actually just doing an artistic creation, but this time the conception is more complicated, and he wants to design and complete it more perfectly."
"You've read this book in vain. The more you read, the more insane you become."
"To be honest, it is difficult to infer the overall plan of the 'great painter' based on just one case. It may not be appropriate to say this, but we want him to reveal his true colors. We can only wait for his next move."
"I don't believe that without your mysterious speculation, we can't catch him with our technical means and experience!"
"But you know that the 'Great Painter' has a strong anti-detection ability. Apart from the things he showed himself, he left no clues. At present, you have no idea except to catch Max. And even if Max is caught, it is very likely that it will not affect the 'Great Painter' from continuing to commit crimes. In a nutshell, you can't do anything to him." Seeing Liam speechless, Torry continued, "But at least we have caught a few symbolic clues, such as the reason for the murder, the fingerprints on the blood painting, the location where the body was found, and the four seasons that we have basically determined. Oh, by the way, speaking of the four seasons, will he want to commit a crime once in each season of spring, summer, autumn and winter?"
Liam nodded, pondered for a while, and said, "But we can't wait that long. Grace's case has a very bad social impact. Although the outside world doesn't know about the blood painting yet, the murder of a public figure is much more difficult to handle than the murder of an ordinary person. It's not easy for the police to do their job."
"But the longer he fights, the more clues and inferences we will have, which will only make it more and more difficult for the 'Great Painter' to continue committing crimes. Maybe he has his own rhythm, or he doesn't have any, and he just wants to kill everyone he wants to kill as soon as possible." Torry thought about it and said, "We might as well make a worse plan. If he succeeds in committing the crime again, then we need to pay attention to the time and reason of the second crime, the number of fingerprints on the blood painting, the place where the body was found, etc. If all the above variables are consistent with the first case, for example, he only kills liars, then we can focus on this type of people, on the one hand to protect potential victims, and on the other hand to find the 'Great Painter'. If the above variables are different, then we have to speculate on the pattern of his crimes, speculate on the reason for his third crime, the possible murder or body dumping location, so as to catch him in advance. The conditions given by two cases are more meaningful than those given by isolated cases."
Torry's voice was low and soft, slowly calming Liam's anxiety. The alcohol also gradually began to take effect, slowly relaxing his tense nerves. He had to admit that although Torry was young, he was much calmer than him in this case. Torry did not slack off because the case had nothing to do with his performance. On the contrary, when others were busy and chaotic, he never stopped thinking, and thought more than them.
"Thank you." Liam raised his glass and clinked it with Torry.
"What's the big deal? I'm your 'specially hired expert' after all."
"No," Liam looked at him and chuckled, "Besides this, I have to thank you for reminding me. I am not doing a very good job as a captain. I also have to thank you for bringing me out. I know you want to help me relieve the pressure."
"It's good that you know. I was going to go to a foot massage parlor to find a pretty lady for a massage, but now I have only you to serve me all night."
"This meal is on my table."
"Captain Lu, please don't show off in front of me. I don't know how much money you make. One month's salary is not enough for me to buy paper and paint."
"I can still afford a few drinks."
"Don't make it hard on yourself, save your capital to be a wife. You should learn from my dad and find a woman like my mom who is both sensible and can earn money to support a man, otherwise your second half of life will be really worrying." Torry was a little tipsy and seemed less sad when he mentioned his father.
"What?" Liam laughed, "Director Zuo is supported by Aunt Wang?"
"Haha, you don't know? My mom's flower and bird creations cost at least 300,000 per square foot. Although not as much as those old guys of Hu Qiuzhi, it's still much more than you police officers make." Torry was very proud, "Otherwise, how did my dad get the money to support ten children? With his salary? He gave away all his salary, and then he didn't have a penny in his pocket. He came home every day to eat and sleep for free, and he didn't buy the house either."
"How can you say that about Director Zuo? It's as if he didn't contribute to your life." Liam laughed from ear to ear. "But I didn't expect painters to make so much money. I thought they were all poor."
"A circle is a world. You must not assume the lives of people in another world. Many people in seemingly poor professions are quietly making a fortune. And many people who seem glamorous and bright go home and use POS machines to cash out credit cards every day, robbing Peter to pay Paul. There are indeed many poor people in the calligraphy and painting circles, but those who are at the top are not bad."
"Well, you help me find someone in the calligraphy and painting circle, like Aunt Wang, who is both reasonable and able to make money." Liam's eyes sparkled, "Good brother, please."
"Hey, hey, hey, where's your dignity as a straight man? Where's your dignity as a people's policeman? You think you can pick a good woman at will, but you don't even look at your own conditions. If I really introduce you to someone, people will curse my ancestors for eighteen generations."
"What's wrong with me? I have a house too, but it's a little smaller and older."
"Yes, but I still have a huge loan to pay off. After paying the bank every month, I only have enough money to buy instant noodles."
"Hey, don't think I don't know you. You also get a fixed salary, and you're new here. How can your situation be any better? The pot calling the kettle black."
"But I can make money by selling paintings. Although I can't make as much as my mother, my paintings can also earn 3,000 yuan per square foot. Do you know how big a square foot is?" Torry saw Liam's confused face and gestured to him. Liam saw that a square foot was only that small, and his worldview was almost ruined.
Torry continued, "When people ask me to paint, they usually want a full four-foot painting, which costs 12,000 yuan. Even so, it depends on whether I can find time in my busy schedule of bathing and clubbing."
Liam wanted to cry but had no tears. He felt that the times had abandoned him without even a word of hello; and the younger generation had abandoned him and not forgotten to mock him. He began to doubt whether he had any real ability and why he was still living such a hard life in his thirties. Although he was the captain of the criminal investigation detachment of the municipal bureau and was well-known, he was the only one who knew the hardships of work and life.
Torry was right. Although he bought a house in Yudong, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, the house was not only old, dirty, and not good for sale, but also burdened him with heavy debts, and the monthly payment took up most of his salary. Whenever he encountered extra expenses, such as gifts for friends' weddings, or donations organized by the bureau, he would be caught off guard and often had to borrow from his parents, which was really embarrassing. He also wanted to find a partner, so that he could go home at night and have someone to talk to when he was tired. But he also understood that the few people he had broken up with before were all "deceived" by his identity first, and finally broke up because of his pace of life and financial situation. Moreover, it was mainly because of financial situation. After all, those big bosses out there are no more free than him, but young girls still line up to get close to him. People are so realistic.
Torry saw Liam's face changing from mood to mood, and just looked at him without saying anything. Liam acted out several inner dramas by himself, and then he realized that Torry was observing him, so he said awkwardly: "What...what are you doing, haven't you seen a handsome guy before?"
"As for your appearance, you're not ugly, you're just not handsome enough. In fact, if you look at it more, you'll be able to accept it."
Liam started to get anxious again. Previously it was because of work, but now it was because of life. He was drunk and lost his sense of propriety: "Don't talk nonsense like you're going to marry me."
"Captain Lu!" Torry was shocked. "Are you crazy from hunger? Are you thinking of picking on men?"
"Will saying less suffocate you?"
Torry laughed so hard that he fell backwards. Liam usually tried to be solemn and dignified, but he was a single man after all, and he was very sultry inside. Captain Lu's tall and majestic status combined with this arrogant remark really produced a great humorous effect. He patted Liam on the shoulder and said, "Okay, okay, after the case is solved, I'm not sure if I can help you find a girlfriend, but I will definitely help you solve your personal problems."
Liam felt that this conversation was becoming less and less serious, and he didn't want to continue chatting with Torry. He picked up his wine glass, frowned, and asked himself in his heart: If there was another way, would he take it?
Won't.
Yes, he won’t. He still wants to be a criminal policeman and a people’s policeman who punishes evil and eliminates evil. This has been his childhood dream and lifelong pursuit. It’s that simple.
The next morning, Liam showed up at the city bureau office forty minutes early, feeling refreshed.
Although he has been passionate about his work and has made great achievements in the past few years, there is always something in his subconscious that prevents him from being completely proud. After talking with Torry last night, he figured it out. He is also a human being. In addition to work, he also has a private life. And his private life can be described as a mess.
He always unconsciously used career success to cover up the unsatisfactory life, but he never really faced his own heart. He finally realized that he had never stopped worrying. Among his peers, some have become middle-level managers in the banking system, and there are two or three who have received a million-dollar year-end bonus; some have started their own businesses, and after experiencing the difficulties in the initial stage, those who are still persisting at his age have already lived in villas and driven luxury cars. The development of this country is so fast that it is suffocating. It seems that if you master a skill or just have good luck, you can quickly and completely cross the barriers of different income groups. Every year at the high school reunion, the group of classmates in the top class show new trends every year and earn more than him, but only he, the unchanging little policeman, is late or even breaks the appointment, as if he is the one who makes the big money.
But now he has figured it out. This is similar to "risking one's life in order to survive". He lives to uphold justice, maintain national peace and world peace. Only these pursuits that may be laughed at by a bunch of rich people are his passion. In the crowd, there are always people who live to make money, and there are always people who need to ensure that others can make money with peace of mind. He is willing to do the latter.
This Max must be caught.
The "Great Painter" must also be caught!
Liam personally led the team to Xiaolin Village today. All the field officers were wearing police uniforms, and the scene was very impressive. At this point, Liam didn't want to investigate secretly. He just wanted to shock Max. If he had the guts, he could just hide here and starve to death. If he dared to move, the surveillance cameras in the whole city would be waiting to catch him.
Liam first went to the largest and only regular supermarket in the village. After asking the clerk and the owner to no avail, he directly asked for the surveillance video of the past seven days - the video here can only be kept for seven days at most.
In addition to the supermarket, there are five grocery stores in the village, all of which are privately owned. None of the stores are large, with an average area of no more than 20 square meters. The store owners are willing to swallow elephants, and are born with the fate of a grocery store, dreaming of Wal-Mart, selling everything from potato chips and soy sauce to toilet brushes and sanitary napkins, so they have to stack things up layer by layer, resulting in only enough space for one foot in the aisle. The space above is not idle, and is full of military coats, clothes drying racks, red scarves, etc. The air is filled with the smell of corrupt soap and laundry detergent, which is suffocating.
After walking a few steps inside, Liam felt that his claustrophobia was about to strike, so he urged Comrade Zhang Lei, the "Walking Garden", to go and ask. Zhang Lei and his team asked five families in a row, and concluded that they had seen people wearing masks and buying a lot of goods in large and small bags. Only one of them had installed surveillance, and it was the kind that automatically cleared the storage after seven days. Zhang Lei pushed this job to Finn, and the rest of the work was to check every house.
There are almost no surveillance cameras in Xiaolinzhuang, but the police's big move was still noticed by the "great painter".
Sitting next to him was Max, whose hands and feet were tied.
"Does this count as saving you?" He said with a forced smile.
Max didn't say anything, but stared at the young man in front of him with the ferocious eyes of a murderer. The other person looked gentle and fair, but his facial features were angular. His eyes sometimes showed the innocence and clarity of a child, and sometimes showed the calmness and vicissitudes that he shouldn't have at his age. Realizing this change, even Max, whose hands were stained with blood, couldn't help but look sideways.
At some point, the young man actually climbed over the wall into his yard, waited at his door, and launched a surprise attack when he came out to relieve himself. He lost unfairly, the fake Erguotou from the grocery store gave him a headache, and when he realized that he had been ambushed, his brain and hands and feet were out of control.
In fact, the "great painter" drove a van with a fake license plate into Xiaolin Village yesterday evening. He parked the car near Max's residence and went to sleep in the car. When he sneaked into the yard, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
He was not completely sure about catching Max. Although he had trained for many years, he was not facing Grace this time, but a murderer who had been walking on the edge of a knife for half his life. He could only choose to attack by surprise.
He saw Max bought a lot of Erguotou, and it was clear that he was going to drink a bottle every night. He had no choice but to take a gamble, hoping that when he went in, Max would be drunk and sleeping soundly. Of course, the worst result would be a head-on confrontation, and it was still unknown who would win or lose.
He won the bet.
The process of knocking Max unconscious was much faster than he had imagined. He found the right opportunity and slashed Max's neck with his knife, but Max did not fall down completely. He took advantage of Max's lack of time to fight back and struck him again. The drunk Max's whole body went limp and he fell to the ground like a pile of mud.
He walked to the door, took the sack, rope and tape that were thrown there before entering the yard, tied Max up tightly, sealed his mouth, and stuffed him into the sack. Practice really makes perfect.
The sky in the east gradually turned pale. He sat in the driver's seat, reading Agatha Christie's novel, enduring the urine smell of Max behind him. At the end of the alley, a few clouds of white steam were coming out of the breakfast stall selling soy milk and steamed dumplings. The hot color suddenly warmed his heart.
At 7:30, the flow of people and vehicles in Xiaolin Village had increased, so leaving at this time should not seem abrupt. He was about to step on the clutch, but saw that the micro camera and power bank were still firmly fixed in the crack of the wall of the neighbor's house opposite Max's residence. He smiled and got out of the car, brushed off the thin layer of sand outside, and took down the gadgets.
When he returned to his place, he had just tied up Max and turned on his computer, when he saw police cars pouring into Xiaolinzhuang from three entrances with great fanfare.
He almost...
The police, just a little bit away.
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